Steve Joubert had always wanted to be a pilot and the only way he could afford to do so, was to join the South African Air Force in the late 1970s.

As an adventurous young man with a wicked sense of humour, he tells of the many amusing escapades he had as a trainee pilot. But soon he is sent to fight in the Border War in northern Namibia (then South West Africa) where he is exposed to the carnage of war. The pilots of the Alouette helicopters were witness to some of the worst scenes of the Border War. Often, they were the first to arrive after a deadly landmine accident.

In the fiercest battles their gunships regularly supplied life-saving air cover to troops on the ground.

The Royal Armouries' collection of Asian arms and armour is among the finest in the world. With the aid of stunning photography, former Deputy Master Thom Richardson outlines a rich and vibrant diversity of military cultures from the Ottoman Empire to East Asia. The book provides fascinating information about medieval Islam, the Ottoman Turks, the Arabian Peninsula, Islamic kingdoms of North Africa, Iran and Iraq, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, India and Indonesia.